PRINCESS ANNE — The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) in the lower level of the Frederick Douglass Library at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore is now officially open.

It’s the place where aspiring entrepreneurs at UMES and in the local community can go to receive help in creating their next big idea.

The university in July became the fifth Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to be designated as a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It is the only one of its kind on the entire Delmarva Peninsula, the next closest is the Eastern Regional headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

Adding the PTRC was a natural progression for the CEI which in the past hosted trademark boot camps for entrepreneurs. At these events “they can come in with an idea and by the end of the day ready to file their trademark application,” said Dr. Pamela Allison, endowed chair of the CEI. “As we were preparing for a patent boot camp, we were approached with the idea about being a PTRC, and it went from there.”

PTRCs are part of the U.S. Patent Office’s mission “to locally support intellectual property needs of the public by providing a human touch,” according to its website.

Frederick Douglass Library staff will help patrons utilize the resource center to research their proposed patents. Sharon Brooks, acting director of library services, said she recognized bringing the PTRC idea to the library was a natural extension of the staff’s roles.

“We knew it would be a plus because of the opportunities offered to the UMES students, faculty, staff, and the community,” Brooks said. “There’s a network of resources that patrons can utilize to research their ideas.”

Dr. Allison added that having the PTRC on campus increases the opportunity to “set entrepreneurs up for success” in what can be a challenging process.

“The patent and trademark process can be very expensive and you don’t want to make a mistake where you find someone out there has something similar to your idea,” she said. “We want to be a resource center that can help alleviate those concerns of making an expensive mistake.”

The grand opening was Oct. 2 and UMES joins three other HBCUs — Southern University and A&M College, Prairie View A&M, and South Carolina State University — that received this recognition in the past year. Howard University, which earned the designation first among HBCUs, has participated in the program since 1986.